It has been common practice that CrossFit conducts in-competition drug tests to the top athletes at Semifinals (or Regionals) over the years. That has still been the case for the athletes who qualified and just missed at this year’s Semifinals…for the elite individuals.
But for the top Masters athletes at the Legends Championship and Magic City CrossFit Semifinal, no drug tests were to be found.
In speaking with athletes who competed and qualified at the Legends Championship and Magic City CrossFit Semifinal, they confirmed that they were not asked to submit a drug test on Sunday after the competition ended. In fact, at Legends the elite individuals were rounded up for drug testing but the Masters athletes were not.
Drug testing is coordinated and paid for by CrossFit, not the third-party Semifinal organizers.
Obviously with 28 Masters athletes qualifying for the CrossFit Games, it is much more costly to administer that many drug tests for the Masters division. However, when you look back over the last two years of sanctions for failed drug tests, over half have been for Masters athletes.
CrossFit still has the right to conduct out-of-competition drug tests at any time. With that there is a possibility that CrossFit does select a portion of the Masters athletes who have qualified for drug testing between the conclusion Semifinals and the start of the Masters CrossFit Games.
In the meantime, the Age Group Online Semifinals are currently underway. After that, the French Throwdown, Torian Pro and LatAM Masters will host in-person Semifinals for Masters athletes.Â
